In your HO, what made you want to own an A4 & any regrets?

[TheCanMan909]

I’m writing this thread out of curiosity as to why people have bought their A4s even knowingly or unknowingly the common problems these cars have. And after having their car for a while do you guys have any regrets buying it?

[Grouch]

I had nothing but bad luck with JDM cars so decided to try my luck with German. I have to say, it's not as bad as everyone has made it. Or I'm just very lucky *knock on wood*. Then again, nothing on my car is stock anymore.

[elpeterson]

I had two WRXs and live in New England. My most recent one ended up blowing a rod and transmission. A4 I bought is just as fast and a nice luxury upgrade while retaining AWD for the snow. Plus my wife likes it (hated my Subaru).

I miss the visceral nature of my WRX but I have two kids and a wife and the Audi turns heads (in a classier way) in the school drop off line.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Audizine Forum mobile app

[cuda2000]

In 2010 my wife was complaining about the hooptie Chevy Lumina I had bought for her to drive after she had our baby. I said, "well when the baby car seat flips from rear facing to front facing you can pick out any car you want". She replied "Ok the baby is a year old and I think we can flip it around tomorrow!" So she went to Audi dealer and picked out a 2 year old 2008 A4 Quattro! I'm like, wow you picked one all right! She said it was her dream car, because she grew up poor and one of her friends mom had a Audi and she always wanted one. I told her, get the new 2010, its a brand new body style. So $38,000 check written and she got the 2010 A4 Quattro premium plus that we still have today, now with 96k miles. She is driving 2017 VW Golf Sportwagen 4motion now and I have the Audi.
Do i have any regrets? Well my advice is do not tell your wife she can pick any car she wants, because you may be surprised by the answer!

2010 Audi A4 Quattro, Check out my upgrade and maintenance videos Cars and Coding here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...4DHrYwEPid0aZb

[b6Hate4]

Bought mine when the only issue the forums really knew about was the oil consumption. A couple years into ownership I ended up having some other issues, one related to timing which I caught before the motor went kaboom, so I was lucky in that aspect, though if I didn't catch it I would likely be salty and have a different opinion on the car.

I didn’t ever regret buying it, but I was happy to leave it behind when I traded it in a couple years ago. Seeing my oil level stay the same on the dipstick is a nice feeling now lol


Bottom line opinion is: Did the B8 warrant the headaches for me? The answer to that is no. I can put up with high maintenance, thats no problem, but in return the car needs to be high performance which the B8 is most certainly not. Too much work for a boring/ sterile return.

[TheCanMan909]

I had nothing but bad luck with JDM cars so decided to try my luck with German. I have to say, it's not as bad as everyone has made it. Or I'm just very lucky *knock on wood*. Then again, nothing on my car is stock anymore.

What year and how many miles ?

[TheCanMan909]

In 2010 my wife was complaining about the hooptie Chevy Lumina I had bought for her to drive after she had our baby. I said, "well when the baby car seat flips from rear facing to front facing you can pick out any car you want". She replied "Ok the baby is a year old and I think we can flip it around tomorrow!" So she went to Audi dealer and picked out a 2 year old 2008 A4 Quattro! I'm like, wow you picked one all right! She said it was her dream car, because she grew up poor and one of her friends mom had a Audi and she always wanted one. I told her, get the new 2010, its a brand new body style. So $38,000 check written and she got the 2010 A4 Quattro premium plus that we still have today, now with 96k miles. She is driving 2017 VW Golf Sportwagen 4motion now and I have the Audi.
Do i have any regrets? Well my advice is do not tell your wife she can pick any car she wants, because you may be surprised by the answer!

2010 Audi A4 Quattro, Check out my upgrade and maintenance videos Cars and Coding here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...4DHrYwEPid0aZb

LMAOO! That’s some A1 advice right there!

[elpeterson]

LMAOO! That’s some A1 advice right there!

More like A4 advice...moray.jpg

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Audizine Forum mobile app

[lilasian2112]

I live where it snows so definitely wanted a AWD car. I wanted a car that was manual so I got a B6 A4 and liked the way it handled. Did most of my own work on the car and when time came for an upgrade, went with a B8.5 and still love it. The engines are pretty identical so easy to work on.

Shops are expensive if you take it a big shop, but if you enjoy doing your own work, not too bad and there are DIY everywhere from basic maintenance to performance.

Only regret is not researching the B8 enough and getting the version without the rear seats going down

Sent from my SM-N960U using Audizine Forum mobile app

[Grouch]

What year and how many miles ?

2014 with around 63k.

[shadowcreep]

My 17 year old Explorer was on it's last legs so I was looking for a decent AWD sedan or crossover with no VCM, no start/stop tech, and no CVT. There were very few options so I got a 2015 A4 Quattro to fit the bill. After 6 years and a short commute, I have less than 25k miles and no problems so far other than a noticeable downshift bump between 4th and 3rd. Still haven't figured that out, but I'll probably change the tranny fluid soon, get a new battery, put on pads that don't squeal when it's cold (Akebono?), and perhaps get a driving adaptation done and see if it goes another 6 years. Not a bad car overall, but mine has very low miles.

[MyDimeIsUp]

2013 Audi allroad. I really liked the like of the headlights (The DRLs especially) and the grille. It has an aggressive-like look while also looking classy. I was actually looking for A4s but landed on the allroad. I don't understand why America craves SUVs when station wagons have the same amount of room, handle better, and get better MPG and performance. Glad I found the allroad, not too common. Coming from a 2007 Corolla, the armrest is padded, the door panels don't rattle, and cruising on the highway feels both safer and better more put together. Only things that bother me are the oil consumption problems (1 quart ~ 1,700 miles), the fear of my gas door being stuck on lock (most the time it stays unlocked and won't lock), the fact that I've sprayed so much lubricant on the (sun/moon)roof rails yet it still struggles to move and stops at random spots, and my timing chain (I'm only around -4.42 on my CPMA yet the thought always lingers in my head). Along with those reasons, one of the other reasons is that one of my top 3 colleges, University of North Dakota, is well... North Dakota. Some good winter tires and quattro should get me through anything, especially during my trips to the airport for flight training.

Regrets? None. Keeping it stock and only doing preventative maintenance and if anything goes wrong.

[eurojunkjon]

I haven’t had any bad luck with the a4. I purchased it knowing what it had in store for maintenance issues down the road, they didn’t seem a big deal since I used to own an 07 s4 which was a nightmare. My only regret is that I didn’t get the s4 for performance reasons.

[Spawne32]

I thought it would make people respect me more, now they just think I am an idiot with holes in my pockets from all the money I spend fixing it.

[19birel]

There were a lot of reasons that led me to chose my A4, but in the end it seemed like the best replacement for my totaled 5 series BMW. AWD and MT like the BMW, sportier than the 5 was but not as uncomfortable as a 3er. All in a package that was both very refined but also tunable. Not to mention that before the BMW, I had a B5 A4 that I enjoyed, and my parents had a 2012 A4 that they put 100k miles on without much issue.

Reliability was definitely important as I bought/built the car going into my junior year of college , but I knew that getting a B8.5 made me far less likely to have oil consumption issues (mine doesn't burn a drop between changes *knock on wood*) and even though it would likely need a timing service of some sort, it wasn't going randomly let go like older B8s with the old style tensioner. In my experience owning German cars, they're pretty darn reliable if taken care of so I knew that if kept up with mine it would treat me well, and it has.

After 2 years and 30k miles of driving I can say that I've loved every moment behind the wheel and have absolutely no regrets!

Here is a video I filmed about my car back in january kind of reviewing it.

[TheCanMan909]

I had two WRXs and live in New England. My most recent one ended up blowing a rod and transmission. A4 I bought is just as fast and a nice luxury upgrade while retaining AWD for the snow. Plus my wife likes it (hated my Subaru).

I miss the visceral nature of my WRX but I have two kids and a wife and the Audi turns heads (in a classier way) in the school drop off line.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Audizine Forum mobile app

What year and how many miles ? If you don’t mind me asking

[TheCanMan909]

I thought it would make people respect me more, now they just think I am an idiot with holes in my pockets from all the money I spend fixing it.

Lmao if it makes you feel better, I respect you spawne

[TheCanMan909]

There were a lot of reasons that led me to chose my A4, but in the end it seemed like the best replacement for my totaled 5 series BMW. AWD and MT like the BMW, sportier than the 5 was but not as uncomfortable as a 3er. All in a package that was both very refined but also tunable. Not to mention that before the BMW, I had a B5 A4 that I enjoyed, and my parents had a 2012 A4 that they put 100k miles on without much issue.

Reliability was definitely important as I bought/built the car going into my junior year of college , but I knew that getting a B8.5 made me far less likely to have oil consumption issues (mine doesn't burn a drop between changes *knock on wood*) and even though it would likely need a timing service of some sort, it wasn't going randomly let go like older B8s with the old style tensioner. In my experience owning German cars, they're pretty darn reliable if taken care of so I knew that if kept up with mine it would treat me well, and it has.

After 2 years and 30k miles of driving I can say that I've loved every moment behind the wheel and have absolutely no regrets!

Here is a video I filmed about my car back in january kind of reviewing it.

I think I came across your thread of you rebuilding this car like a couple days ago and if it is you, that’s pretty impressive ! Dope video and Your car is dope as well!!

[BradyBoi55]

Just to put this out there I absolutely love my a4 avant. Currently has 118,000 miles on it and I have done so much to the car. When I first got it it was running great for 2 months. Below is everything I have done to it maintenance and performance. Keep in mind the engine was fully rebuilt at 70k miles with timing chains and tensioner with all revised parts.
Coils/Plugsx2
Battery
2 PCV valves
Removed/replaced valve cover with sealant
new purge valve
exhaust cutout off downpipe
cts hfc
cts intake
ie stage 2 crackle tune
2 inch drop with coilovers
summer wheel set and winter wheel set
rs4 grill(no badges)
all new fluids
new knock sensor
new vacuum pump
new vacuum pump gasket
new high pressure fuel pump
Cylinder 3 camshaft adjuster solenoid
new wiring for the solenoid
upper timing cover gasket and new cover
new oil pan
all pads/rotorsx2
coolant flange on back of cylinder head
ball joints
heater hose below coolant flange
cam magnet seal
led interior light kit
front aluminum skid plate
blower motor
water pump.
Ive had the car for about 2 years now. I bought it for $7500 not knowing all of the work/problems that come with it. Ive put $9000 into the car and I have done all the work myself. No regrets whatsoever. I love this car and cant imagine not buying another audi after this one.

[elpeterson]

What year and how many miles ? If you don’t mind me asking

2014 A4, bought last Feb/March with 55k, have put another 6k on this year

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Audizine Forum mobile app

[Peter.dupuis]

Started with a b7 a4 that stayed stock and I sold at 250k miles. Then bought a 13 a4 that got all the performance upgrades and sold at 90k miles. Now I have a 14 allroad with 35k miles. No engine upgrades for the allroad, but I just installed air ride.

I love these cars and have no regrets. I also haven’t had any issues. Replaced the pcv and walnut blasted the a4 at 75k and that’s all I’ve had to do to the b8.5s. The b7 got the timing service at 150k and a cam adjustment at 220k and that’s the only work that was ever done besides general maintenance. I also do 3k oil changes and a full service once every year. Kind of unnecessary, but I also haven’t had any real issues.

Previously owned a 05 Passat and 03 GTI 20ae. Both overheated and blew from issues with the coolant hoses.


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

[DrGER]

On our third A4Q 6MT. Started with a B6 to replace an older 90Q 5MT 10 years ago. Ended up putting 75k commuter miles on it in 3 years. Next was the B8 6MT ('09). Our local Audi dealer did the Stage 2 oil consumption fix (new pistons/rings) 6 years ago this month, completely covered by AoA. Only other repairs that car needed while we had it were the A/C pressure sensor and a wheel bearing (though we did the timing chain 10 months before we sold it, and a carbon cleaning was likely due). The '14 has been easy to own: apart from normal maintenance (which is no worse than any other car we've owned), I replaced the PCV a month after the warranty ran out, the battery a few months after that, and updated the nav maps in Oct '18, then had an indy shop replace the leaky A/C condenser in June for half what the dealer quoted. We use the A4Q mostly for longer trips (or runs out-of-town when snow is forecast) now (a Jetta SportWagen TDI 6MT is our local hauler).

OP asked (1) why the A4 and (2) any regrets? I grew up in western NY in the '70s-'80s and the first car I bought was an Audi ('74 Fox, it was rough, but it got me around WNY winters until I found a '77 100 LS). And I knew people who worked at Gleason Works (Rochester) where the Torsen differential was developed & built. So how can I *not* have an Audi without Torsen-based Quattro ? Besides, my wife & I prefer MTs over ATs, so that means the A4. When we were in Holland (NL) last summer, we came across a new A4 Avant Quattro 6MT in a showroom. That's what I'd really like to find here.

Regrets? Maybe not waiting a little longer to find another Brilliant Red Premium Plus with 6MT, MMI/Nav, and B&O...

[TheCanMan909]

Started with a b7 a4 that stayed stock and I sold at 250k miles. Then bought a 13 a4 that got all the performance upgrades and sold at 90k miles. Now I have a 14 allroad with 35k miles. No engine upgrades for the allroad, but I just installed air ride.

I love these cars and have no regrets. I also haven’t had any issues. Replaced the pcv and walnut blasted the a4 at 75k and that’s all I’ve had to do to the b8.5s. The b7 got the timing service at 150k and a cam adjustment at 220k and that’s the only work that was ever done besides general maintenance. I also do 3k oil changes and a full service once every year. Kind of unnecessary, but I also haven’t had any real issues.

Previously owned a 05 Passat and 03 GTI 20ae. Both overheated and blew from issues with the coolant hoses.


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

250k on a b7?? NICE!!!
And damn 35k on a 2014
Do you only take it out on the weekends ? Super low miles!

[TheCanMan909]

On our third A4Q 6MT. Started with a B6 to replace an older 90Q 5MT 10 years ago. Ended up putting 75k commuter miles on it in 3 years. Next was the B8 6MT ('09). Our local Audi dealer did the Stage 2 fix 6 years ago this month, completely covered by AoA. Only other repairs that car needed while we had it were the A/C pressure sensor and a wheel bearing (though we did the timing chain 10 months before we sold it, and a carbon cleaning was likely due). The '14 has been easy to own: I replaced the PCV a month after the warranty ran out, the battery a few months after that, and updated the nav maps in Oct '18, then had an indy shop replace the leaky A/C condenser in June for half what the dealer quoted. We use the A4Q mostly for longer trips (or runs out-of-town when snow is forecast) now.

OP asked (1) why the A4 and (2) any regrets? I grew up in western NY in the '70s-'80s and the first car I bought was an Audi ('74 Fox, it was rough, but it got me around WNY winters until I found a '77 100 LS). And I knew people who worked at Gleason Works (Rochester) where the Torsen differential was built. So how can I *not* have an Audi without Torsen-based Quattro ? Besides, my wife & I prefer MTs over ATs, so that means the A4. When we were in Holland (NL) last summer, we came across a new A4 Avant Quattro 6MT in a showroom. That's what I'd really like to find here.

Regrets? Maybe not waiting a little longer to find another Brilliant Red Premium Plus with 6MT, MMI/Nav, and B&O...

Sounds like you’ve had great luck with your cars! Also dang nice to know some history with the Quattro.

[Peter.dupuis]

250k on a b7?? NICE!!!
And damn 35k on a 2014
Do you only take it out on the weekends ? Super low miles!

Bought the allroad in October 2019 with 20k. I almost doubled the miles in one year lol I live in a small town and typically do about 8k/year


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

[4xaudi]

I got an excellent deal on a 2013 allroad with under 100k. Prestige with tech package. My only problems have been with the sunroof leaking and dumping water back into the rear fuse panel. Gave me some really weird MMI issues. I also have a stage 3 C5 allroad so these issues are very minor in comparison.

[Traptalk]

My insurance quote was too high for a b8 s4 with my driving record and the 3.0T a6 I found for sale was purchased 5 minutes before I arrived to see it.

Only reason I got the 2.0T a4

[captain_video]

I've had several B5 VW Passats, a Jetta, an A4, and an A6. We bought a '98 Passat for my wife from CarMax and it was a really nice car. We bought the Jetta from a friend of my wife's for my daughter. My '99 Passat was one of the best cars I've ever owned. I learned to do a lot of my own maintenance on it so I was intimately familiar with the car. I bought my '99 Passat 1.8T, a '99 Passat 2.6, and a 2005 A6 on ebay. The first one was bought locally and the others I had shipped to my house. The 2.6 Passat was purchased for my son, but a drunk driver totaled it while it was parked in front of his friend's house. I also bought a 2013 A4 with the CVT from a dealer in Texas that was also shipped and it turned out to be a total lemon. I traded it in at a local dealership for a 2014 A4 S-Line Quatro and I love it. We never had a single problem with the '05 A6 and eventually traded it in on a 2014 Q7. I wanted to keep my '99 Passat until it hit 250k miles, but it started having a lot of issues around 205k and I didn't feel like dealing with them at the time, which prompted me to get the '13 A4. Passats and A4's share a lot of the same components and features, but I decided to go with the A4 because it was more upscale that the Passat. In fact, my '99 Passat was actually the exact same car as the B5 A4 with a different body and interior. Regardless of all of the horror stories you hear about Audis and the 2.0T engine in general, I absolutely love my A4. The 2.0T engine is so much smoother than the old 1.8T and there's very little turbo lag. The oil consumption problem seems to have been fixed with the B8.5 models and I haven't seen any excessive oil consumption since I bought the car several years ago. It's a beautiful car and it rides and handles like a dream. I'm at a point where I'll probably have to do a brake job in the near future and I did put new tires on it (the car had a vibration in the suspension at speeds about 70 mph, but it turned out to be the tires.
Runs smooth as silk at those speeds now). Other than routine oil and filter changes every 5k miles, the only other maintenance I've done is a new set of spark plugs and new air and cabin filters.

[TheCanMan909]

My insurance quote was too high for a b8 s4 with my driving record and the 3.0T a6 I found for sale was purchased 5 minutes before I arrived to see it.

Only reason I got the 2.0T a4

Lol we’ll are you happy with your purchase ?

[TheCanMan909]

I've had several B5 VW Passats, a Jetta, an A4, and an A6. We bought a '98 Passat for my wife from CarMax and it was a really nice car. We bought the Jetta from a friend of my wife's for my daughter. My '99 Passat was one of the best cars I've ever owned. I learned to do a lot of my own maintenance on it so I was intimately familiar with the car. I bought my '99 Passat 1.8T, a '99 Passat 2.6, and a 2005 A6 on ebay. The first one was bought locally and the others I had shipped to my house. The 2.6 Passat was purchased for my son, but a drunk driver totaled it while it was parked in front of his friend's house. I also bought a 2013 A4 with the CVT from a dealer in Texas that was also shipped and it turned out to be a total lemon. I traded it in at a local dealership for a 2014 A4 S-Line Quatro and I love it. We never had a single problem with the '05 A6 and eventually traded it in on a 2014 Q7. I wanted to keep my '99 Passat until it hit 250k miles, but it started having a lot of issues around 205k and I didn't feel like dealing with them at the time, which prompted me to get the '13 A4. Passats and A4's share a lot of the same components and features, but I decided to go with the A4 because it was more upscale that the Passat. In fact, my '99 Passat was actually the exact same car as the B5 A4 with a different body and interior. Regardless of all of the horror stories you hear about Audis and the 2.0T engine in general, I absolutely love my A4. The 2.0T engine is so much smoother than the old 1.8T and there's very little turbo lag. The oil consumption problem seems to have been fixed with the B8.5 models and I haven't seen any excessive oil consumption since I bought the car several years ago. It's a beautiful car and it rides and handles like a dream. I'm at a point where I'll probably have to do a brake job in the near future and I did put new tires on it (the car had a vibration in the suspension at speeds about 70 mph, but it turned out to be the tires.
Runs smooth as silk at those speeds now). Other than routine oil and filter changes every 5k miles, the only other maintenance I've done is a new set of spark plugs and new air and cabin filters.

Sorry about your experience with the lemon but at least it seems like the one you bought after is a good car ! If you don’t mind me asking how many miles does it have?

[BradyBoi55]

After having the engine rebuilt at 70k I am now having oil consumption problems again. Amazing. The pistons rings timing chains and tensioners were done. I have no oil in the charge pipes/intercooler. About half a quart in 500 miles. Pcv was done about 5000 miles ago. Any suggestions? I’m all out of ideas

[schwiz23]

I was at a point in my life where I had been an IT professional for 10 years, driving a 2007 clapped out Scion with 250k miles that I had to work on every month, and I wanted to own a manual transmission car that I could drive 40 miles a day that wasn’t a Toyota. I wanted something a little more luxurious and wanted to spoil myself a bit.

Audi has always appealed to me but I had never owned a German car. I searched for a low mileage 6mt for almost 3 months before buying a 2015 with 50k miles. The S4, for the mileage and transmission I wanted was out of budget.

After I bought the car is when I really started diving into it. I wanted to learn everything I could about it so I could perform maintenance. Little did I know what I had stepped into.

Fast forward almost a year and I have hardly a stock car anymore. The journey has been fun and slightly expensive but I don’t think I’d take it back. It’s a blast to drive and I now know how to work on it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[19birel]

I think I came across your thread of you rebuilding this car like a couple days ago and if it is you, that’s pretty impressive ! Dope video and Your car is dope as well!!

Yup, that was me, thanks!

Hopefully this forum helps you make an informed purchase that you're happy about for years to come!

[Traptalk]

Lol we’ll are you happy with your purchase ?

Fuck no. Timing chain failed with out warning 6 months after purchase and bent all 16 valves causing a $4,500 repair bill

I mean the car looks decent but it was battle getting all the maintenance caught up and every time I feel caught up something breaks or fails

Between the chain and oil consumption these cars can be a nightmare.

At the end of the day it’s a heavy slow car with not much tuning potential

[TheCanMan909]

Fuck no. Timing chain failed with out warning 6 months after purchase and bent all 16 valves causing a $4,500 repair bill

I mean the car looks decent but it was battle getting all the maintenance caught up and every time I feel caught up something breaks or fails

Between the chain and oil consumption these cars can be a nightmare.

At the end of the day it’s a heavy slow car with not much tuning potential

Lol Dang sorry about that man.
I’ve read good and bad about these cars. If you don’t mind me asking what year is your A4?

[TheCanMan909]

Fuck no. Timing chain failed with out warning 6 months after purchase and bent all 16 valves causing a $4,500 repair bill

I mean the car looks decent but it was battle getting all the maintenance caught up and every time I feel caught up something breaks or fails

Between the chain and oil consumption these cars can be a nightmare.

At the end of the day it’s a heavy slow car with not much tuning potential

Shit bro based off your IG you’re deeply in love with your car lol
It looks dope tho !!!
Hope it last you a while without any problems now !!

[Traptalk]

Shit bro based off your IG you’re deeply in love with your car lol
It looks dope tho !!!
Hope it last you a while without any problems now !!

It’s a love-hate relationship 😂

It’s a 2011 premium +

[Traptalk]

She was in a accident 2 days before Christmas unfortunately over $5k in damage and surprisingly they didn’t total it. No air bags went off and the car would of been driveable if it wasn’t lowered but the fender was pressing into the tire

All the damage was to the passenger side front corner so fender, bumper, hood, and headlight

Hopefully she still looks decent after the repair is over

[Grouch]

She was in a accident 2 days before Christmas unfortunately over $5k in damage and surprisingly they didn’t total it. No air bags went off and the car would of been driveable if it wasn’t lowered but the fender was pressing into the tire

All the damage was to the passenger side front corner so fender, bumper, hood, and headlight

Hopefully she still looks decent after the repair is over

Oh shit! Glad you're okay man. Was wondering why the K04 thread has been so quiet lately. How long til you get your car back?

[elpeterson]

Fuck no. Timing chain failed with out warning 6 months after purchase and bent all 16 valves causing a $4,500 repair bill

I mean the car looks decent but it was battle getting all the maintenance caught up and every time I feel caught up something breaks or fails

Between the chain and oil consumption these cars can be a nightmare.

At the end of the day it’s a heavy slow car with not much tuning potential

Coming from a WRX my B8.5 has way more tuning potential and the stock components can handle way more power.

By the time I hit the 300whp/torque milestone my transmission failed followed shortly by a bent rod in my FA20. Subaru was definitely more visceral but man my B8.5 feels just as quick with a less bone crushing ride.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Audizine Forum mobile app